Women of Troy set for crosstown showdown

The USC women’s volleyball team returns to action tonight, hosting crosstown rival UCLA at the Galen Center.

The No. 9 Women of Troy (7-3) have struggled lately, losing both of their matches in the USC Classic earlier this month and dropping another contest to fifth-ranked Wisconsin in last week’s Pac-12/Big Ten Showcase.

USC did pick up a win in its last match, a sweep of Maryland. The victory was the 350th of head coach Mick Haley’s career.

“I never really paid much attention to that stuff,” Haley said. “It’s always been about the next match, and that’s the way you live your life … I don’t know if [350] is a good number or not. I have been here 14 years, and it’s a good look to see how we have been doing.”

No. 20 UCLA (9-2) has a better record than its archrival but has only briefly matched up against the top competition that USC has faced thus far. The Bruins’ two losses this season have come against Loyola Marymount and Penn State, the then-No. 1 Nittany Lions being the only ranked team on the Bruins’ non-conference schedule.

Outside hitter Karsta Lowe and setter Julie Consani have led the charge for the Bruins thus far. Lowe leads the team in kills with 191 and also has an excellent hitting percentage of .368. The leader of the offense is Consani, who distributes the ball extremely well to her hitters. In 11 matches, she has 414 assists, approximately 12 assists a game.

UCLA’s freshman outside hitter Olga Strantzali is also making herself known early in her young career. Strantzali, originally from Greece, has a .302 hitting percentage and is tied for the team lead in aces with 10.

USC holds a slim advantage in the series against the Bruins with a 54-46 all-time record. The Women of Troy are 5-2 against the Bruins in seven seasons at the Galen Center, which is only hosting this week’s showdown due to odd circumstances. The match was originally supposed to be played in Westwood, but the teams agreed to switch games after this summer’s flooding at UCLA’s campus.

This rivalry is so unique and heated that the girls always want to come out on top. Senior outside hitter Emily Young is no stranger to this heated matchup and enjoys the chance to play against the Bruins.

“UCLA is one of the most fun rivalries,” Young said. “There are a lot players from Southern California that know each other and our schools are so close in proximity. You are playing against your really good friends. And it makes it an intense but fun rivalry.”

For the Women of Troy to be successful against their archrival, they will need to improve their blocking and continue to pass well, especially in serve-receive situations. The team will have to rely heavily on sophomore libero Taylor Whittingham and her digging skills in defensive situations.

Sophomore outside hitter Ebony Nwanebu knows that this game will be a battle and that the team has to remain strong.

“We need to be able to come together and when we get down be able to come back,” Nwanebu said. “We have had trouble with that in the three games that we lost. We are getting better at that though, we have been practicing on it and basically having that team bond.”

USC hopes that even with three early season losses under its belt, tests against top-25 opponents will make the team come together and mature as the season progresses.

Either way, the Women of Troy will have their hands full against the Bruins, and it will likely come right down to the wire.